Mayor Don Wesely said today he is very disappointed by the decision by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to pursue an emergency listing of the Salt
Creek Tiger Beetle as a threatened and endangered species despite vigorous local
efforts to protect the insect and its natural habitat. Several hundred of the
rare beetles live in the saline wetlands near the 27th Street and Interstate 80
interchange.

Mayor Wesely praised local experts, environmentalists, landowners and elected
officials for their immediate response to the announcement in October 2001 that
the USFWS was considering adding the beetle to the Threatened and Endangered
Species List. That same month, Wesely appointed a local expert committee to
develop a local strategy for protecting the sensitive wetlands areas where the
beetle lives in hopes that local action would prevent federal action.

The local committee’s report came out in December, and its recommendations were
acted upon immediately. The new Comprehensive Plan adopted May 28 precludes
development in the most sensitive beetle habitat areas and includes buffer
zones designated by Mayor Wesely in response to the committee report.

"I continue to believe that local solutions developed by our own community
provide the best answers and are best accepted by the public," Wesely said.
"I commend Lincoln and Lancaster County officials and citizens for making the
Tiger Beetle issue a priority and reacting quickly with a positive locally driven
solution."

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission listed the Tiger Beetle on its threatened
and endangered species list in March 2000. About the same time as the state
listing, the City-County Planning Department began developing its Natural
Resource - Geographic Information System (NR-GIS), an environmental database for
community planning. The database was one of the first steps in developing the
Comprehensive Plan, which for the first time includes a chapter on environmental
and natural resource planning. The NR-GIS includes the Tiger Beetle and other
natural resources.

Lancaster County began acquiring saline wetlands as early as 1989. Mayor Wesely
announced the establishment of a wetland mitigation bank in November 2000.
In April 2002, the city received a $250,000 grant from the Nebraska Environmental
Trust Fund for the first year of the Eastern Saline Wetlands Project to preserve
and protect the saline wetlands ecosystem. The Trust also approved $250,000 for
years two and three, pending availability of funds.

In a recent meeting, USFWS officials praised the local effort, but advised the
Mayor of their intent to proceed with an emergency listing because the number
of Salt Creek Tiger Beetles is down to only a few hundred specimens. The beetle
is indigenous to the saline wetlands of Lancaster County and southern Saunders
County. Its natural habitat has been depleted and degraded by growth and development
in and around Lincoln.

"During the 1990s, there was aggressive development in the floodplain where
saline wetlands exist, and that apparently has contributed to our current
dilemma," said Mayor Wesely. "A year ago, I warned the community that the number
of permits being sought to fill in Lincoln’s floodplains was a major concern. At
my urging, local developers agreed to be more careful until we could draft new
regulations protecting our floodplains. A task force I appointed is working on
those regulations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but for the Salt Creek
Tiger Beetle, it may be too late."

Wesely said the ramifications of the USFWS decision to list the Tiger Beetle
remain unclear. A federal listing of the beetle could lead to additional federal
reviews and bureaucracy, which could delay public infrastructure construction,
private development, farming and recreation. He said USFWS action should prompt
a federal study resulting in a habitat and conservation plan, but such plans can
take a very long time to complete due to a lack of federal funds for such studies.
Wesely said the concern is that projects will be delayed until USFWS develops
the criteria local government will have to follow.

"The writing of the management plan for the emergency listing will be very
important to the type of restrictions and bureaucratic red tape that the federal
Fish and Wildlife Service will impose on the area. As local officials, we will
be asking the federal officials to let us participate in the drafting of that plan,"
Wesely said. "The City, County and State have made sincere effective efforts to
protect the Tiger Beetle. We don’t want to be left out of the discussion now that
the federal agency has decided not to accept those efforts.

"We urge USFWS officials to move quickly to inform us about their intentions in
developing a federal management plan and the impact their decision will have on
our community," said Wesely. "We intend to continue pursuing environmentally
sensitive policies and grant opportunities for environmental protection. We will
continue to be mindful of any action that could affect the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle
or its unique habitat."